Kaduna state government has demonstrated its commitment to guaranteed health and wellness of its citizens by spending N121.3bn on the health sector in the last five years.
The Deputy Governor, Dr. Hadiza Balarabe, who made this known at the 2021 graduation of the 3rd cohort of the Health Leadership Academy, also said that access to basic healthcare is not just fundamental to human development but a basic right.
Dr Balarabe who was a guest at the occasion which held virtually, further said that the investments are aimed at ensuring better outcomes in the health sector of Kaduna state.
‘’Since 2016, the state has maintained a budgetary allocation of 16% and above for the health sector, devoting the sum of N 121.36 billion in the five years of this administration,’’ she added.
According to the deputy governor, the budgetary allocation has enabled the state “to implement healthcare programmes, expand healthcare infrastructure, increase staff strength, expand access and improve the quality of healthcare services across all levels.’’
“All these point to our commitment towards guaranteeing the healthcare and wellness of our people. For us as a government, health care is not only fundamental to any human development, but a basic right for every citizen and we are committed to deliver on this,’’ she added.
The deputy governor who is also a medical doctor, maintained that ‘’it is crucial to develop the leadership capacity of health professionals at the management and senior levels.‘’
According to her, the training will go a long way towards improving their knowledge, skills and productivity as professionals in the delivery of healthcare services.
While congratulating the 30 participants of the programme, Dr. Balarabe noted that, “training programmes are valuable tools in enhancing performance.
The deputy governor advised governments to go beyond providing office equipment and focus on developing leadership capacity to achieve better healthcare outcomes.
“With the new information, ideas and skills, you can confidently face the future and exhibit high leadership qualities through developing and implementing strategies that will meet the healthcare needs of the population we all serve”, she added.
She therefore commended the Health Leadership Academy (HLA) for stepping in to fill the vacuum by creating the platform for leadership capacity development for the nation’s health sector.
